Thanksgiving Day murder suspect says he's innocent

PLAQUEMINE - A man accused of a Thanksgiving Day murder in Plaquemine claimed his innocence as he was transferred to the Plaquemine Police Department Thursday afternoon.

“I was not running because I was guilty. People are always calling my name when something happens in my neighborhood. I’m innocent though,” said 38-year-old Jerome Gray as he was being loaded into a Plaquemine Police cruiser.

Gray was arrested in the Sherwood area of Baton Rouge late Wednesday and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail. Gray was captured with help from the U.S. Marshals Task Force, Plaquemine Police and other local and state authorities. He had been on the run since Thursday.

Gray is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 32-year-old Derick Askins. Askins was shot dead late in the day on Thanksgiving near Canal and Church Street in Plaquemine.